Occupational health hazards and safety measures in pharmaceutical industry

Pharmaceutical industry
The

pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs licensed for use as medications. The pharmaceutical industry is an important contributor to the health of the economy, with 65,000 people directly employed and many more in support industries.

The industry presents particular challenges to occupational health practitioners engaged in the delivery of effective occupational health services. The demands of a highly technical work environment must be blended with the need to maintain effective health management in a fast-paced, changing and pressured global business climate.

The persons working in pharmaceutical industry were exposed to Chemical hazard Ergonomic hazard

Chemical hazard
A large

number of chemicals and drug substances are used in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. Irrespective of the fact that a unit may be producing bulk drugs or formulation dosage forms, the operating personnel are constantly being exposed to various chemical substances used in the processes.

They are exposed to various diseases such as Respiratory problems Mental health problems Skin disorders Musculoskeletal disease

Estimated numbers of cases occurring during 2002 among the UK pharmaceutical industrys 65 000 employees.

 The

chemical substances come in contact and enter human body by different routes such as dermal, inhalation and ingestion. Sensitive organs such as eyes are highly susceptible to exposure to chemical vapours, dust or splash, irrespective whether the chemicals exist in solid, liquid or gaseous form.

 Through

prolonged exposure to various chemicals, the working personnel are likely to suffer damage to their health to different degree and this damage may eventually manifest in typical symptoms of diseases. The third schedule of Indian Factories Act lists 29 different diseases which are termed as notifiable diseases

 Noise

as an occupational hazard is separately considered in the Environment Protection Rules. High levels of noise is likely to cause loss of hearing and this is a Notifiable Disease. A maximum permissible level during working hours is stipulated. Portable direct reading instruments are available for measurement of noise levels in decibel units. It is possible to reduce if not totally eliminate the various chemicals health hazards so also high noise hazard at work place.

ERGONOMIC HAZARDS
Ergonomics is the application of scientific information concerning humans to the design of objects, systems and environment for human use. Ergonomics comes into everything which involves people. Work systems, sports and leisure, health and safety should all embody ergonomics principles if well designed. Ergonomics concerns everyone at work and is about: Designing workplaces, equipment and tasks to fit the worker Making work and equipment safer, easier and more productive

Lack of consideration of Ergonomics in the design of workplaces and jobs can result in: injuries and illness fatigue and discomfort inefficient working practices poor quality of work and errors equipment which is awkward and uncomfortable to use lost time and poor morale

SAFETY MEASURES
These involve measures such as appropriate engineering design, use of suitable personal protective equipment and formulation and implementation of practically feasible work procedures. The ineffectiveness or deficiencies or inadequacies of the above measures need to be corrected by periodic as well as surprise technical audits and the necessary follow up action. It is essential to have Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for all chemical substances used in the manufacturing processes. Standard MSDS format has been designed in Environment (protection) Act and Rules. Various MSDS formats have also been recommended in different safety guidelines.